LSAT Self Study

Podcast Highlight:

This week’s podcast goes over self-study options for the LSAT. We hear from the Director of Pre Law Programs for Kaplan, Jeff Thomas, the Chief Executive Officer for PowerScore, Dave Killoran, and Laura Alliman, a first year law student at the University of Tennessee and an LSAT “self-studier.”

One of many options available to students preparing for the LSAT is self-study guidebooks and materials. In the podcast, Laura Alliman discusses her self-studying process and how it worked for her. In her case, when law school became a goal, she decided against a prep course for the LSAT (due to her prior disappointments with MCAT prep courses), and instead bought numerous study guides and practice tests, which she used to achieve her target score.

Dave Killoran and Jeff Thomas both talk about the pros and cons of self-studying, and explain that self-studying, while successful for some students, may not be the right step for everyone. While self-studying can help all students solidify their knowledge of the basics of the LSAT, oftentimes a student will need in-person or classroom help to truly understand the intricacies of the test and continue to improve their LSAT score.

In addition, Dave Killoran mentions that using self-study methods at the start of LSAT preparation can be very beneficial: It can allow the student to determine weaknesses in study habits and preparation, and then allow the student to use classroom or personalized studies to change study strategies.

Finally, Jeff Thomas puts self-studying into layman’s terms by comparing it to physical exercise. When working out, he says, if you don’t eat right and prepare correctly, you won’t see the results on the scale. Similarly, with the LSAT, if you don’t take the time to truly understand the questions you are tackling and get the help you need to master them, you won’t see the results in your scores.